If we don't know much about his first name Vitus, his last name is striking: Bering. Olivier Remaud's book Errances recounts the incredible life of this 18th century adventurer.
Vitus Bering was born in Denmark in 1681. Quickly this commercial sailor engaged from 15 years old sails to the West Indies. Having completed officer training, he then joined the Russian Navy, which seemed to promise him a better future and greater opportunity for promotion.
Not very fond of trade fairs and politics, he was entrusted with his first expedition, which was to lead him to discover the lands of eastern Russia. The tzar Pierre Le Grand offers Bering the opportunity to travel the country, not by boat, but on foot. Arriving on the east coast after many adventures due to the very harsh climate, Bering built a boat to discover the lands opposite. He then entered a strait that later bore his name, but sea conditions forced him to turn back without having proved that the land of Russia was detached from America. This expedition will last 5 years.
Back home, Bering proposed a new and more ambitious expedition to sail east in search of America. He will succeed, but he will die. He will be buried on an island that the sailors named after him.
This book tells the incredible story of this adventurous sailor who led these 2 expeditions to unknown lands and under hostile climates. The author Olivier Remaud, philosopher, relies precisely on the documents of the time to tell the story of the expedition. While some documents provide crisp details, the author never deviates from this truth that could have made the book more novel. We are here in the austerity of the period document. It will take the imagination of the reader who will have to try to place himself in the situation of the hero, seeking to feel the wind or the cold suffered, to succeed in understanding the character and his will, in this century where everything remains to be discovered.
Even if the hero is a sailor and even if each of his two expeditions ends at sea, it is above all a land story that is told here. Moreover, the first sentence of the book is correct: "Never has a sailor walked as much as he has."
- Paulsen Publishing
- 247 pages
- 15.1 x 21 cm
- 21.00 euros
